Egypt's ousted leader Hosni Mubarak released after 2 years in prison

Now under house arrest at military hospital

FILE: A supporter of the ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak holds his portrait in Cairo, Egypt on Feb. 16, 2012.

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CAIRO - Egypt's ousted leader Hosni Mubarak has been released from prison and private TV stations have shown footage of his arrival at a military hospital in a Cairo suburb where he will be held under house arrest.

Dozens of the ousted leader's supporters rallied outside the Tora prison waiting for Mubarak to be released after more than two years in detention.

Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi ordered that Mubarak be put under house arrest as part of the emergency measures imposed this month after a wave of violence sparked by Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi's ouster.

Thursday's move followed a court decision ordering his release in relation to charges of receiving gifts from a state-owned newspaper.

The house arrest decision appeared designed to ease some of the criticism over Mubarak being freed from prison and ensure that he appears in court next week for a separate trial.

The release threatens to stoke the unrest as the Arab nation is already roiled in a crisis from the July 3 coup that unseated his successor, the country's first freely elected president, Morsi.

It was the latest development in the saga of the longtime leader, toppled in Egypt's 2011 uprising.

Mubarak still faces retrial on charges of complicity in the killing of nearly 900 protesters in the uprising. His trial resumes next week.

Mubarak is facing a number of other charges of corruption, but prosecutors have already ordered his release pending trials. The last release order Wednesday was on charges of receiving gifts from a state-owned newspaper, a case Mubarak had settled.

He is currently also standing re-trial on charges of complicity in the killing of protesters in the 2011 uprising, which could put him back behind bars, and faces investigation into at least two other corruption cases as well.

Mubarak's supporters have released conflicting details about his health, including that the 85 year old suffered a stroke, a heart attack and at times went into a coma. His critics called these an attempt to gain public sympathy and court leniency.

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